


Choose Your Poison

by yeolinski



Series: Twitter Made Me Do It [1]
Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Crushes, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Misunderstandings, barista seongwoo, comic artist daniel, evil seongwoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-14 19:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15395343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeolinski/pseuds/yeolinski
Summary: Daniel sacrifices his taste buds for love.





	Choose Your Poison

**Author's Note:**

> SO - YOU GUYS CHOSE, AND THE YEOLINSKI HAS ANSWERED. 
> 
> unedited. At all. What you see is what I wrote.  
> Rated Teen for just some minor adult themes and cursing, but nothing too rough.
> 
> Hey, you guys! This fic has been **translated to Vietnamese by the wonderful @liu_kz** and you can read it [ right here! :) ](https://www.wattpad.com/story/158705294?utm_source=ios&utm_medium=link&utm_content=story_info&wp_page=story_details&wp_uname=liu_kz&wp_originator=1gsX4TE8ks9x0PAljU7CID8yQGPMubmyIuRQ1KpjJynSJdACD2rBPNWusmm%2BvhRQELFjdOQrouy%2FpNTO8z%2BPp9GN1XX1lAQSyENairB3k0cslrRQCMYax%2FfDKVBlS%2FGR&_branch_match_id=573088716283519246)

  


It’s not that Daniel hated coffee.

Coffee was okay. He liked warm lattes in the winter, and in the summer, strong iced americanos. He also liked the haughty feeling that came along with holding a branded cup; almost like it gave him a weird confidence boost.

But other than that he didn’t harbor any particular feelings for coffee - well, beside this one pet peeve.

If there’s something he really hates it’s when people take him out for ‘business lunches’ at coffee shops. What the actual fuck is up with that? Who does that? Unless the place actually offered lunches that won’t leave you utterly starved, coffee shop is not the right place for a business lunch, because there’s no lunch involved, just coffee, and maybe a fancy ass sandwich that Daniel could’ve slapped together back at home.

So when Sungwoon dragged him in, Daniel was ready to murder him.

Give him food, god fucking damn it. After 7 hours of signing autographs and talking about his next releases, he was ready to eat his own agent. He’s small, anyway.

“Nice, right? They just opened it up.” Sungwoon flaunts.

“But it doesn’t have food.”

“God, you get so grouchy when you’re hungry - relax. They have food.”

“A salmon sandwich isn’t food, hyung. I need food. Like a triple mac that’s leaking cheese, with a side dish of a mountain of fries - that’s food. Salmon sandwich isn’t classified in the same category as that.”

They’re next in line, but the girls before them take super long to decide what they want.

“Did I tell you it’s Minhyun’s?” Sungwoon is looking around to see if Minhyun is here, and he’s not.

“Like, seven times.”

“Don’t you think it’s really cool that he decided to invest in his own business. I think it’s cool.”

“I think you really want to get into Minhyun’s pants, that’s what I think.”

“Talk shit, get hit, Daniel.” Sungwoon whispers through closed teeth. He’s still looking around but now he grooms himself a little, runs his hand on his hair so his forehead will show, and runs his teeth on his lower lip to bring back some color into it. You can’t be more obvious than that.

“Yeah, yeah—” It’s their turn, and the barista turns around. And it’s not Minhyun.

Definitely not.

“Oh. Ugh.” Sungwoon pauses, looking toward the door that leads to the back; “Hi, Seongwoo.”

“He had to go finish up on a thing.” He speaks, and his voice is just… not what Daniel imagined at all.

“I wasn’t looking for Minhyun.” Sungwoon bristles. “Obviously.”

“Right.” The barista says, then turns his gaze toward Daniel; “You brought another one, huh? What excuse are you going to use when there’s no more friends left to ‘introduce the place’ to?”

“Well, they’re not going to come back for your coffee, that’s for sure.” Sungwoon sighs.

Except Daniel will. Daniel will come back for anything this dude is offering. He’s tall and lean, and his fingers are long. On top of the black apron, he has a name tag and the name tag reads ‘Seongwoo’ and he’s literally the embodiment of everything good in this world.  
“Somebody has to promote it. You won't.” Sungwoon sighs.

“Right.” Seongwoo doesn’t look impressed, but he still smiles and glances briefly at Daniel; “So - what can I get you guys?”

“Is there really nobody else here? How about Daehwi?”

“Nope. Not here.”

He clicks his tongue; “Fine — just simple black coffee. Don’t anything in there. Not even sugar. No weird potion brewing. Just coffee, got it? Also — Daniel is really hungry… They have tuna sandwiches and cake…” Sungwoon goes over the menu. “Maybe a cheese bagel? With olives? Daniel?”

Daniel looks away from the barista only when Sungwoon hits him; “Um. Yes. Okay. That.” He says, even though he doesn’t even like olives, but who cares when — Seongwoo nods, and goes right into work.

He seems almost too used to Sungwoon’s attitude, and it doesn’t murk his mood. He hums something as Sungwoon proceeds to explain what extravagant additions Minhyun made to the place to make it look so… clean (there’s literally no other way to describe it).

They sit at a table by the window, and Sungwoon goes over some schedule conflicts with him, and usually Daniel would care, but he sits in such a strategic position that he can see the entire coffee shop, but most importantly, Seongwoo.

And there’s just… so much to look at.

Seongwoo fusses around the counter, cleaning and rearranging the cups. His eyelashes are so long that Daniel can see their shadow on his cheeks from the overhead lights. One time he can’t reach the hot chocolate cup so he has to stand on his tip toes, and his shirt lifts up, and Daniel stops breathing all together.

He’s both hot and cold, nibbling at his coffee straw, after Sungwoon poured in 4 packets of sugar into it, until it’s finished.

“You don’t have to drink that, if you don’t want to.” Sungwoon tells him as he packs his stuff, he has to run by the office to another client, and Daniel can’t really tell what that means. “Want me to drop you off to your apartment?”

“Um, no, I’ll stroll around afterwards for a bit.”

He doesn’t.

He stays right there, rooted to the spot, pretending to go over something on his phone while chewing on his straw.

Before he leaves, Seongwoo brings him another cup of coffee. “On the house,” He says.

“Thanks.” is all he’s able to produce, a bit dumbfounded that he actually came over and now he’s actually speaking to him.  

Seongwoo watches him for a second, then nods, and is about to leave, so Daniel says; “I - uh - sorry that I occupied the table for so long.”

Seongwoo looks around, now there’s a couple of girls in the corner, but beside that, it’s still pretty empty inside. “Don’t worry about it. We barely have any customers as it is.”

“I can’t imagine why.” He answers.

Seongwoo snorts; “I’m sure you can.”

Daniel proceeds to scan the restaurant; “Well, it might be the decor. It screams ‘try-hard minimalistic’.”

“Is that what it screams? I thought it screams ‘we didn’t have money for actual decor’.” Seongwoo cocks his head to the side as he looks at the coffee shop, and Daniel can’t help but stare at the long curve of his neck. It looks eatable.

“Well - um.” He takes a really long sip from his coffee, and Seongwoo’s eyebrows are a bit raised. “Thank you. I needed a pick-me-up before I go.”

“Don’t mention it. You’re always welcomed.” Seongwoo smiles, toothy and wide and it’s the most brilliant, beautiful, amazing smile in the world, and Daniel’s ear ring so loud, he thinks he’s deaf for a moment.

He has a really bad stomach ache back at home all day long.

 

.

 

He needs a place.

To write-slash-sketch in.

Today the construction site outside his window is very noisy, even though he never really minded it up until now. And the starbucks is out of question, because there’s people inside, and he doesn’t like people. That’s what he tells Seongwoo, and Seongwoo smiles at that last one, and makes him more coffee.

So what if he had to take the bus here? At least it’s quiet.

He knows he’s obsessed, but what can he do? He can’t focus on his work without watching him, because he’s thinking about him, and he can’t focus on his work while in the shop, because he keeps on spying on his from above his laptop, looking away hurriedly whenever Seongwoo glances back at him.

He probably looks pathetic.

He should just make a move.

Except he knows he’s going to mess up, because last time, he was staring at him while sipping his cup and Seongwoo waved to him awkwardly, and he just smiled and waved back and he forgot that he had coffee in his goddamn mouth, and it spilled all over his new pants and on his laptop. Seongwoo tried really hard not to laugh, but it’s the thought that counts. He went around with puffed cheeks for about 5 minutes. He looked like a blowfish. It was cute.

Today he was at least dressed down, so he didn’t looked so try-hard.

He glances at the counter again - just to find it empty.

“Are you an artist?” Seongwoo asks.

Daniel sits up straighter, and glances at him. He’s standing there with the mop in his hand.

“Yeah,” He says, voice breaking a little near the end. This is it. He’s a pretty impressive person. He has a lot to flaunt, and he should use it. _Confidence,_ Daniel.  “As a matter of fact I am.” He rubs the creases on his shirt.

“A manhwa artist? I saw you having comic-like boxes and stuff. Sorry if I peeked.”

Daniel shakes his head; “A comic artist. I’m pretty popular. You might have heard of me? I got a job offer from DC comics for next year.”

“Oh really? That’s pretty cool.” Seongwoo doesn’t seem very impressed, though. Maybe he doesn’t know what DC is.

“It’s like - the company that’s in charge of batman and superman…? It’s a pretty big deal. I was on the news and everything.”

“Yeah, I know.” Seongwoo for another moment, before leaning back down to one of the tables, and continuing to clean the table beside Daniel; “I actually like marvel better.”

Ouch.

Well, yeah, so does Daniel, and that’s why Sungwoon was pressing him to consider it, but Daniel wanted to refuse eventually, because he wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to be a part of it just yet, but it was good PR and it brought even more people to buy his comics, so they were stretching their time with it.

Not that he’s going to explain himself now - yeah, okay, it was kind of dumb to approach him like that, so he deserve it.  Daniel’s shoulders slump in defeat. Why isn’t that he can’t think around him?

“So - um… what’s your comic about?”

Daniel perks up. He’s giving him a second chance, and he should seize it. His comics is pretty cool. “It’s like… about an animagus - well… like a person who can change to a specific animal; he can change into a cat. Like Mcgonagall from Harry Potter. He’s basically gets into all sorts of weird situations. Like… comical ones - um… but he really, really hates bugs - like he’s terrified of them - but his crush really loves bugs? And he collects bugs and stuff, and that sort of puts him into even more… comical… situations…” He scratches his head when he realizes it sounds kind of dumb.

“So it’s sort of funny?” Seongwoo sits down on the chair next to the table he was cleaning, and leans his face into his hand as he preps it with the elbow on it; “I like funny things - been a bit busy with school and stuff, so I’m not terribly informed about what’s in and all that…”

“What are you studying?”

“Medicine.”

“Oh —!” Daniel furrows his eyebrows; “That’s… really hardcore stuff.”

Obviously he won’t be impressed with comics, he’s going to be a doctor.

“It’s not like that. My course is more into pharmaceuticals than being a doctor.” He snorts; “I’m also taking it slow. Three classes per semester. Intensive is not for me.”

“I kind of get that. Before deadlines my agent - Sungwoon’s my agent - always starts breathing down my neck, and pressuring me… and I always just… lock the door, close my phone, ignore everybody until I’m done. I really hate that. I’m really just… very chill. About stuff. Well - not everything, I’m not totally carefree - but like I’m mostly chill. Take things easy. That’s me.”

God, can he just stop talking for one _second_?

Seongwoo snorts, and then leans in a little, and Daniel gulps. He looking down, though. “You didn’t finish your coffee yet?”

Daniel presses his lips together, and says; “Yeah… I got distracted with the drawing and—” He takes his cup and chugs it down, ignoring the common sense that’s screaming for him to stop. “This is great. Your coffee, I mean.” He puts down his cup. “Is great.”

Seongwoo snorts, and takes his cup from him. “Another one, then?”

“Sure.”

.

 

As all the regular indie coffee shops go, Minhyun’s coffee shop also serves drinks with long difficult unpronounceable names.

Daniel sometimes feels self-hatred for buying something that sounds so obnoxious, but only after the euphoric daze that follows interaction with Seongwoo fades away.

Seongwoo loves experimenting.

“It’s like potion brewing.” He explains as he’s making him _Skinny Hazelnut Macchiato with a Caramel Drizzle_. “That’s why I study pharmaceuticals. I love chemistry and shit. Not the exploding kind, obviously. Well, maybe also the exploding kind.”

Daniel snorts.

He’s been sitting on the bar these days. Shameless, because Seongwoo lets him get away with it without asking too many questions or giving him weird looks. It’s so easy to speak to him, now that he can, so Daniel doesn’t want to stop.  He didn’t even bring the laptop or the drawing pad today. He just comes to drink coffee - Seongwoo’s coffee.

The little pause he makes when he hands him the coffee, when he just stands there, staring at him with those bright hopeful eyes of his, waiting for Daniel to say; “Wow, it’s good.”

“Good?” The smile on his features isn’t exactly a grin - but it’s also not a smirk. It’s something only half-malicious. “I actually learned it yesterday. Minhyun can’t wait for me to quit, so he’s just making me remember all those super difficult combinations?”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, I only agreed to work here because I owed him a favor. But now I don’t want to quit because the money’s good and the shifts are flexible. So I’m just pressing on his buttons.”   

“Oh.”

“Want me to make you another one to go?”

“Mnn…” Daniel takes another sip from his coffee cup. “Yeah, sure.”

“It’s called…” He clears his throat; “Chai Tea Latte, soy milk,” he pauses to create tension; “Extra whipped cream, and chocolate syrup.”

Daniel can’t help but be amused with it; “You totally lost me at Latte.”

Seongwoo laughs, and goes about his coffee making; “Ah, I’m so getting fired.” He bends down for the chocolate syrup, and Daniel leans down the counter a little, holding his breath.

His butt is small, but damn these pants just make it look… so…. round. It’ll fit perfectly in his hands.

“Why’d you say that? Look at that counter, it’s so clean I could eat off of it.”

Seongwoo gives him a knowing stare and Daniel pretends he didn’t see it.

“Well, I guess I’m still learning. What’s so wrong with wanting to make coffee for people?”

“Of course. It’s a process. Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Daniel assures.

It’s not rome.

Or the process.

Or the fact that Seongwoo never made any coffee before working here.

A stubborn part of Daniel still refuses to admit it. Sometimes he’d blame it on belly butterflies. Sometimes on nervousness. Sometimes on anxiety. His crush on Seongwoo is just making him malfunction all over — but there really is no doubt about it.

Not after he has a sip of the chai latte cup near the bus station on his way home.

Jesus fucking christ. He actually stops and takes a long moment to swallow that tiny little sip he took into his mouth.

By some miracle, a passerby dumps into him, causing him to spill it, because Daniel wouldn’t have the actual heart to throw something Seongwoo made him. So he just stands there, next to a spilled coffee, and he thinks he _imagines_ the liquid actually seeping in, and eating through the concrete.

Seongwoo’s coffee isn’t bad.

No.

It’s simply _undrinkable_.

It tastes like broken hopes, dead puppies, satan’s blood, and mosquito-repellent spray - all mixed together. It tastes so bad, that people are scared to come into the shop while it’s his shift. It tastes so bad, that heaps of teenagers or office-ladies would come in to order something, only to turn around and make sour faces at the coffee he makes, but keep coming back just to see him again - and Daniel isn’t very different, except — he is, because he actually drinks it.

He every time. He drinks it because somehow he can mute the screams of anguish coming out of his mouth, and down an entire cup of poison down his throat without batting an eyelash - just in exchange for a smile.

“Oh my god.” He whispers to himself, He’s crushing on him _bad_. He’s crushing on him worse than bad. He’s crushing on him to a life-risking level.

That can’t be good.

 

.

 

The next day, he comes to the coffee shop with a resolve.

Get Seongwoo to agree to a date.

He can totally do it.

A group of giggly girls are standing there before him, and after they leave Daniel sits down ceremonially; “The unusual.” He calls out, to make Seongwoo laugh; “I know the perfect drink. You’re going to love it.” He says.

Daniel doubts it.

While he’s working, Daniel decides to just land it on him; “So - um… Slow day today, huh?”

Right, yes. Totally direct approach, right there. Not beating around the bush, at all.

“What makes you say that? Look at all those girls coming into the shop asking for the cinnamon because they know I need to bend down to get it.”

This upsets Daniel, especially because it’s been awhile since he ordered something with cinnamon; “You should put it on the top shelf, then.”

Seongwoo is about to put the jar away, when Daniel, dumb thing he is, asks; “Can I get something with cinnamon?”

And Seongwoo gives him an amused look; “Sure.” He says, and opens the jar, before lifting it up to the top shelf. Damn Daniel and his unhelpful advices. He’s practically cock-blocking himself, at this point.

But at least the shirt Seongwoo wears is tight and the muscles in his back flex as he reaches for the jar.

So that’s nice.

If this was his comics, he’d get to see him bend, too. Damn it, he could’ve asked for the chocolate syrup.

Seongwoo puts the cup before him, and waits.

“So, um… listen.” Daniel starts.

Seongwoo raises his eyebrows at him, urging him to continue.

Daniel gulps nervously, and looks down at the coffee.

I’m sorry it turned out weird.” Seongwoo says suddenly, when he stares at it, trying to find the right thing to say;  “I really thought I got the hang of it, but it’s really tricky.”

“What is?” Daniel looks back at the coffee, to find that the foam had some sort of a mashup of dark and white.

“I wanted to make a leaf - but it kinda looks like a butt.” He snorts.

They both hover over the coffee cup.

“It looked so easy when Daehwi was doing it.”  Seongwoo sighs.

“It does look like a leaf,” Daniel decides, then turns it around. “See, from this angle. That could be a leaf. I mean, plants come in all shape and sizes; so it might be a leaf from some... exotic plant.”

That makes him laugh, eyes crinkling in delight.

And when he laughs like that, he literally redefines the word ‘sunshine’ to him, and it’s all Daniel ever wants to see for the rest of his life, even if he’ll have to drink a cup of cobra venom a day just to see it.

“So - um… Would you want to grab a cup of coffee, sometime?”

Seongwoo looks surprised for a moment, then looks down on Daniel’s cup of coffee — and oh.

“I mean - like… afterwards. It doesn’t have to be coffee. I mean - Are you free? Later? After your shift?”

“Are you trying asking me out?” He doesn’t seem surprised, though. And he shouldn’t be - Daniel was probably hella obvious.

“Yeah. I am.”

Seongwoo takes a long inhale; “Took you three months. I was getting frustrated.”

“Is that a yes?” Daniel scratches his head; “Hold on — why didn’t you ask me back, then?”

“It’s a yes.” Seongwoo leans snorts; “And I can’t do that. It’s against policy to ask customers out.”

 

.

 

When Seongwoo stays over for the first time, Daniel wakes up to an empty bed.

Still warm - but empty.

For a moment he worries, but then he hears Seongwoo talking to his cats animatedly, as if they’re having a conversation — and also… there’s the rich heavy aroma… of… coffee.

Yesterday was so perfect. They had pizza for dinner. Watched Spiderman, then abandoned it to make out. They made love for hours.

If somebody had looked up a perfect date night; this would come up in the search results.

He kinda hoped to wake up with him, cuddle, and fall back asleep - but no. Now the inevitable coffee cup of the morning after awaits him. But that’s okay. Daniel’s stomach will just have to take one for the team.

“Oh, hey — you’re awake.” He brings in the coffee into the room and hands him his cup, before giving him a long slow kiss. “I made you some coffee.”

“Thanks, babe.” Daniel says; “You didn’t have to.”

“No, I had to. It’s been awhile since I made you coffee.” He’s staring at him. Waiting.

Daniel decides to just go at it.

And — it’s… he finishes it up easily, thinking maybe there will be a bitter end to it, but no. It’s just sweet, plain coffee. “Dude…” He trails off for a moment, leaning down the headboard of the bed. “I love you - but your coffee tasted like car oil - and this is actually pretty decent. What did you do?”

“Ah, finally he confesses!” Seongwoo puts his own mug down, and climbs on top of him; “I told you - Minhyun made me work there. Through blackmail and shady stuff. I was not going to pretend to enjoy it, even though I was getting paid. I was just messing with him  — but you… seemed so happy to gobble it all up… I would literally mess everything up, and you’ll still say it’s good. It was so endearing.”

“You were literally poisoning people? And getting paid for it?” Daniel bites his lip, before rolling over him until he’s on top, and peppering him with kisses. “That is so evil. That’s the most evil thing I can imagine. I thought you were just bad at making coffee.”

“Well, if you weren’t this bad at asking me out, you could’ve saved yourself the stomach ulcers.”

"Long live the stomach ulcers." Daniel says; "They got me laid."

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys liked it! :>  
> Okay, so this will be a part of a series, maybe? Because I find it kinda cool, and really just challenging to write something out of a bunch of generated prompts, instead of tending to my actual wips (yes, I'm a lazy, uninspired piece of shit). :>


End file.
